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Pastimes : SI Grammar and Spelling Lab -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: E who wrote (3230)	7/24/1999 6:44:00 PM
From: The Philosopher	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 4711

I have the 20 volume OED, 2nd Edition, which incorporates the 13 volume 1st edition plus all supplements. And expertise is given as an alternate spelling for the verb form expertize. It is not listed in the 2nd ed as a nonce word. Does this mean that it is coming into, rather than moving out of, generally accepted use? However, to your broader criticism. You write It may well be quite advantageous for [your children] to have the ability to, when they wish, speak and write as do the most sophisticated users of the language. Okay. But that begs the question, who ARE the most sophisticated users of the language? On broad terms, there is probably general agreement about who are and who are not sophisticated users. But when you get down to the closer points, there is no definitive list which says "those on this list are sophisticated users, those not on this list are not." Part of the fun of English is arguing on these fringes. Can imply and infer be used interchangeably? Can less and fewer be used interchangeably? How about jealous and envious? What is right, what is wrong? When do avant-garde usages become mainstream, and when do mainstream usages become obsolete? Who is to say? For starters, though, I hold that the OED is the most widely accepted authority on the proper and improper use of words. It certainly has more authority behind it than any other dictionary or book of word usage. Beyond the OED, there are certain authors I accept as almost always right about language (E.B. White being number one on my list), but NOBODY is 100% perfect. Therefore, I may find usages even in White that I will disagree with (though I haven't yet). I love Fowler (the original), but he can be dated. I have Fowler 3rd, which is really by R.W. Burchfield, though haven't delved into it enough to know whether I agree with him or not. Most of my usage books are 20-30 years old. I started teaching English in 1967, and last taught full time in 1979, though I have taught on and off since then, mostly at the community college level. So I have not kept up much with the current books. (One can only devote one's attention to building a library in so many areas.) So I don't claim to have a usage reference section that is fully up to date. In this context, what about expertise as a verb? As said above, the OED accepts it without condition. Fowler 1 doesn't mention expertise. Burchfield/Fowler, however, calls "expertise" a loanword from French, first recorded in 1868. He goes on to say "It is to be distinguished from the relatively uncommon verb expertize (or -ise) 'to give an expert opinion (concerning)'. None of my other reference sources mention it. So we have a word usage which is not in most desk or "college" dictionaries, but is in the OED as an accepted usage, and is given as an acceptable, though relatively uncommon, use by the most modern usage reference I have. Does that make it proper usage? Who's to say? But clearly it is not IMPROPER usage. Would "sophisticated" listeners roll their eyes at hearing the usage? Probably some would. But is the correct response to bow to their limitations, or to educate them and help them broaden the scope of their own usage? (As I am offering to you here.) Perhaps now if your son uses dialogue or expertize as a verb you will not react negatively, but will say something like "Ah, my dear, a most sophisticated usage. Perhaps, however, you should be careful only to use the word that way among the truly learned, recognizing that the mostly learned may look down on you, not yet being prepared to recognize that you are using richer language than they have yet advanced to." (BTW, I'm not sure I would call any one contributor here "the most sophisticated user of language on SI." I would say there is a core of users I would be hard pressed to rank. I won't name them lest I hurt feelings by leaving anyone out, but we all know who they are. (At least all of us who also consider ourselves sophisticated users of the English language!))